Social licence has created a new standard that businesses hoping to start energy and infrastructure projects have to meet.

Advocates of the concept now claim that applicants have to win the approval of certain groups – non-governmental organizations, citizen’s associations, local residents – before they can go ahead.

However this has created an uncertain and often-shifting set of standards which businesses need to meet.

The event will ask: “Is social licence a meaningful addition to the regulatory process, or is it being used as a constantly moving goal-post designed to slow down regulatory processes, delay project implementation, frustrate energy infrastructure expansion and even enrich those advocates who promote it as new model?”

“‘Social licence’ ought properly to be called ‘opponents' permission’”, he wrote. “And a moment's thought reveals why such open-ended, undefined, biased and unaccountable tests can never be the basis on which civilized societies make such decisions.”